BENNINGTON — A Pownal man is being held in prison after police said he confessed to sexually assaulting a girl he knew from the time she was a pre-teen until she became an adult.

Timothy Snyder, 49, of Pownal, was arraigned in Bennington criminal court on one felony count each of aggravated repeated sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault on a person younger than 13. Both charges carry minimum sentences of 10 years and maximum sentences of life.

Snyder, who pleaded innocent to the charges, was ordered held in the Rutland jail until a hearing can be scheduled to determine whether he will be given a chance to be released from custody pending the resolution of the charges.

In an affidavit, police said they met with a 24-year-old woman who said Snyder had sexually assaulted her numerous times from when she was about 5. She claimed he impregnated her when she was 12 but said she got an abortion.

She also provided police with a recording she made on Thankgiving, during which Snyder admitted to the sexual abuse and said he feels like “the lowest scum on earth.”

The woman said she hadn’t come forward before because Snyder had warned her if she had, she would be “pushing up daisies.”

Police said Snyder was taken into custody and interviewed on Wednesday. According to the affidavit, Snyder admitted to the sexual assault, which he said started when the girl was 8, but said he was “consuming a lot of alcohol back then and does not remember everything.”